sams84 's review for:

Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake

3.0

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I really really wanted to enjoy this given its reputation and standing as a classic in the fantasy genre but there was just something I couldn't get into until the last hundred pages or so. Granted Peake has excelled with the creation of Gormenghast and the characters found within its gloomy stone walls but I didn't need quite so much detail about every little thing, I would really have liked a little more left to my imagination, which I think is why I struggled with this. That and the fact that I didn't really get on with any of the characters and found many of them rather tiresome and irritating but in persevering I found the characters developing into people I began to feel for, particularly Fuchsia who starts off incredibly irksome but by the final pages has grown magnificently. This book is well worth a read but does need dedication and persistance, however the reader is well rewarded for this and as this is the first in a series the scene is well set for further conspiracies and adventures within the walls of the great castle of Gormenghast.